diff --git a/backend/apps/agents/agent_manager.py b/backend/apps/agents/agent_manager.py
index af9c7c65..74c8c3c2 100644
--- a/backend/apps/agents/agent_manager.py
+++ b/backend/apps/agents/agent_manager.py
@@ -4639,17 +4639,20 @@ class AgentManager:
     def get_all_sessions(self, dashboard_id: str | None = None) -> list[AgentSession]:
         if not dashboard_id:
             return list(self.sessions.values())
-        # Memory first, then promote any on-disk sessions for this dashboard
-        # that aren't loaded yet. Imported sessions (and ones not resumed since
-        # a restart) live on disk but not in memory, so without the disk pass
-        # their cards render blank, the frontend's AgentCard returns null when
-        # a card's session is missing from the agents slice. Promoting into
-        # self.sessions bounds the disk read to once per session per run, like
-        # resume_session. Mirrors get_browser_agent_children's memory+disk walk.
+        # Memory first, then promote on-disk sessions for this dashboard, but
+        # ONLY ones the dashboard's layout still has a card for. A session keeps
+        # its dashboard_id when its card is deleted, so promoting by tag alone
+        # resurrected deleted chats on every reopen; the layout's cards are the
+        # real source of truth for what's on the board. Imported sessions ARE in
+        # the layout, so they still surface, and this bounds the disk read to
+        # once per session per run, like resume_session.
         result = [s for s in self.sessions.values() if s.dashboard_id == dashboard_id]
         seen = {s.id for s in result}
+        card_ids = self._dashboard_card_ids(dashboard_id)
         for sid, data in _load_all_session_data():
-            if sid in seen or data.get("dashboard_id") != dashboard_id:
+            if sid in seen or sid not in card_ids:
+                continue
+            if data.get("dashboard_id") != dashboard_id:
                 continue
             try:
                 sess = AgentSession(**data)
@@ -4661,6 +4664,18 @@ class AgentManager:
             result.append(sess)
         return result
 
+    def _dashboard_card_ids(self, dashboard_id: str) -> set[str]:
+        """Session ids the dashboard's layout currently has agent cards for.
+        Read straight off disk (no dashboards-module import, avoids a cycle)."""
+        try:
+            import os
+            import backend.config.paths as _paths
+            from backend.config.json_store import read_json_or_none
+            d = read_json_or_none(os.path.join(_paths.DASHBOARDS_DIR, f"{dashboard_id}.json")) or {}
+            return set((d.get("layout", {}).get("cards") or {}).keys())
+        except Exception:
+            return set()
+
     def get_session(self, session_id: str) -> Optional[AgentSession]:
         return self.sessions.get(session_id)
 
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_swarm_bundle.py b/backend/tests/test_swarm_bundle.py
index fe23d60a..0678bda6 100644
--- a/backend/tests/test_swarm_bundle.py
+++ b/backend/tests/test_swarm_bundle.py
@@ -323,6 +323,39 @@ def test_dashboard_export_import_carries_agent_cards_and_transcript(tmp_path, mo
     assert sum(len(s.messages) for s in found) == 2, "and with their transcripts"
 
 
+def test_get_all_sessions_does_not_resurrect_deleted_cards(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    # Deleting a card removes it from the layout but the session keeps its
+    # dashboard_id on disk. get_all_sessions must surface only sessions the
+    # layout still has a card for, or deleted chats come back on every reopen.
+    from backend.apps.agents import agent_manager as am
+    import backend.config.paths as paths
+    sdir = tmp_path / "sessions"
+    ddir = tmp_path / "dashboards"
+    sdir.mkdir()
+    ddir.mkdir()
+    monkeypatch.setattr(am, "SESSIONS_DIR", str(sdir))
+    monkeypatch.setattr(paths, "DASHBOARDS_DIR", str(ddir))
+    monkeypatch.setattr(am.agent_manager, "sessions", {})
+
+    did = "d1"
+
+    def sess(sid):
+        return {
+            "id": sid, "name": sid, "status": "completed", "model": "sonnet",
+            "mode": "agent", "messages": [], "branches": {}, "active_branch_id": "main",
+            "dashboard_id": did,
+        }
+
+    (sdir / "kept.json").write_text(json.dumps(sess("kept")))
+    (sdir / "deleted.json").write_text(json.dumps(sess("deleted")))  # still tagged, card gone
+    # The layout has a card only for "kept" (the user deleted "deleted"'s card).
+    (ddir / f"{did}.json").write_text(json.dumps({"id": did, "layout": {"cards": {"kept": {"session_id": "kept"}}}}))
+
+    ids = {s.id for s in am.agent_manager.get_all_sessions(dashboard_id=did)}
+    assert "kept" in ids, "a session the layout still has a card for must surface"
+    assert "deleted" not in ids, "a session whose card was deleted must NOT resurrect"
+
+
 def test_dashboard_serialize_rewrites_refs_to_bundle_ids():
     from backend.apps.swarm.entities.dashboards import DashboardExportable
     from backend.apps.swarm.models import EntityType